I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Great Shelford. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Great Shelford are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Great Shelford so you should seriously consider looking for a Great Shelford conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Great Shelford where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Great Shelford conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Great Shelford conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Great Shelford conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Great Shelford conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

We expect to complete the disposal of our £300000 garden flat in Great Shelford on Friday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Great Shelford?

Great Shelford conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally requires the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Great Shelford what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Great Shelford. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Coventry Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Great Shelford Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? Its a good idea to discover as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will either make your life much easier or much more difficult. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask other tenants what they think of their service. Finally, be sure you discover the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending that money. It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other significant cost is due in the near future that will be shared by the leaseholders and could well materially impact the level of the maintenance fees or result in a one off invoice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Great Shelford